Managing multiple communication profiles at a mobile device

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for performing actions associated with multiple communication profiles generated for a user of a mobile device are described. In some embodiments, a communication alias system generates multiple, distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobile device, where a communication profile is a distinct profile associated with the user of the mobile device and includes a unique communication address to which communications are directed. The communication alias system may perform actions associated with providing information to the user of the mobile device via a selected communication profile for the user of the mobile device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/933,769, filed Nov. 5, 2015, entitled “MANAGING MULTIPLECOMMUNICATION PROFILES AT A MOBILE DEVICE,” which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/091,804, filed on Dec. 15,2014, entitled MULTIPLE CONTACT ALIAS SYSTEM AND PERFORMING ACTIONSUTILIZING SAME, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets) provide differentmechanisms via which users communicate with other users. For example, amobile device may provide a user with voice communication applications(e.g., for phone calls), text or instant messaging applications (e.g.,for text or instant messaging conversations), social networkapplications, and other applications or programs that enable a user toreceive and send textual, visual, or auditory information over a networkfrom/to other users, such as a telecommunications network and/or theInternet.

Typically, a user of a mobile device is associated with a single addressor phone number for a given communication mechanism. For example, theuser may have a single phone number via which his/her mobile devicesends and receives voice communications and text messages, a singleusername via which his/her mobile device sends and receivesapplication-specific messages, and so on.

Use of a single address or number, however, may result in variousannoyances and other drawbacks associated with using a mobile device,such as the receipt of unwanted messaging from advertisers, thecomingling of communications associated with a user's personal andprofessional lives, and/or the retention of access to the user forobsolete or irrelevant entities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a suitable computing environment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of a communicationalias system.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for managing multiple,distinct, communication profiles for a user of a mobile device.

FIGS. 4A-4G are display diagrams illustrating various user interfacespresented by the communication alias system.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of facilitating temporarycommunications for a user of a mobile device.

FIG. 6 is a display diagram illustrating a user interface that presentsinformation sent to a communication profile.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating suitable components of acomputing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

Systems and methods for performing actions associated with multiplecommunication profiles generated for a user of a mobile device aredescribed. In some embodiments, a communication alias system generatesmultiple, distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobiledevice, where a communication profile is a distinct profile associatedwith the user of the mobile device and includes a unique communicationaddress to which communications are directed. The communication aliassystem may perform actions associated with providing information to theuser of the mobile device via a selected communication profile for theuser of the mobile device.

For example, the communication alias system may direct messaging andalerts to specific communication profiles associated with the messaging(or, senders associated with the messaging), may generate communicationprofiles that are location and/or time dependent (e.g., temporaryprofiles), may enable third-party provisioning of communicationprofiles, and so on.

The systems and methods will now be described with respect to variousembodiments. The following description provides specific details for athorough understanding of, and enabling description for, theseembodiments of the system. However, one skilled in the art willunderstand that the system may be practiced without these details. Inother instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shownor described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptionof the embodiments of the system.

It is intended that the terminology used in the description presentedbelow be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though itis being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific embodiments of the system. Certain terms may even be emphasizedbelow; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in anyrestricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such inthis Detailed Description section.

Suitable Computing Environment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a suitable computing environment100 within which a communication alias system 150 may operate togenerate, create, provision and/or manage various distinct communicationprofiles for users of mobile devices. In some embodiments, thecommunication alias system 150, such as a system that provides a userwith multiple aliases, personas, and/or communication profiles via whichthe user may communicate, is described. The communication alias systemmay be part of and/or supported by a mobile device 110 or otherelectronic computing device.

The mobile device 110, or electronic computing device, may be a tabletcomputer, smart-phone, net-book, mobile GPS navigation device, smartwatch or other accessory, surface or tabletop computer, desktopcomputer, server computer, network connected television or televisionset-top box, on-board automobile (boat, RV, and so on) communications,entertainment, or computing device, gaming console, or any computingsystem or device. The mobile device 110 includes various hardware and/orsoftware components, such as voice communications components 112, textmessaging (or other messaging) components 114, application-basedmessaging or social network service applications 116, and so on.

For example, the mobile device 110 may include various human interfacecomponents, device components, memory, and so on. The mobile device 110may communicate with other devices 130A-C over a network 120. Thenetwork 120 may be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network(WAN), the Internet, a telecommunications network, or other networkscapable of facilitating various communications between computingdevices.

FIG. 1 and the discussion herein provide a brief, general description ofa suitable computing environment in which the system can be supportedand implemented. Although not required, aspects of the communicationalias system 150 are described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as routines executed by ageneral-purpose computer, e.g., mobile device, a server computer, orpersonal computer. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciatethat the system can be practiced with other communications, dataprocessing, or computer system configurations, including: Internetappliances, hand-held devices (including tablet computers and/orpersonal digital assistants (PDAs)), all manner of cellular or mobilephones, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, set-top boxes, network PCs, mini-computers,mainframe computers, and the like. Indeed, the terms “computer,” “host,”and “host computer,” and “mobile device” and “handset” are generallyused interchangeably herein, and refer to any of the above devices andsystems, as well as any data processor.

Aspects of the system can be embodied in a special purpose computingdevice or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured, orconstructed to perform one or more of the computer-executableinstructions explained in detail herein. Aspects of the system may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks ormodules are performed by remote processing devices, which are linkedthrough a communications network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN),Wide Area Network (WAN), or the Internet. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Aspects of the system may be stored or distributed on computer-readablemedia (e.g., physical and/or tangible computer-readable storage media),including magnetically or optically readable computer discs, hard-wiredor preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROM semiconductor chips),nanotechnology memory, biological memory, or other data storage media.Indeed, computer implemented instructions, data structures, screendisplays, and other data under aspects of the system may be distributedover the Internet or over other networks (including wireless networks),on a propagated signal on a propagation medium (e.g., an electromagneticwave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over a period of time, or they may beprovided on any analog or digital network (packet switched, circuitswitched, or other scheme). Those skilled in the relevant art willrecognize that portions of the system reside on a server computer, whilecorresponding portions reside on a client computer such as a mobile orportable device, and thus, while certain hardware platforms aredescribed herein, aspects of the system are equally applicable to nodeson a network. In an alternative embodiment, the mobile device orportable device may represent the server portion, while the server mayrepresent the client portion.

Examples of the Communication Alias System

As described herein, in some embodiments, the communication alias system150 establishes and provides multiple communication profiles for a user,such as various different communication profiles, each of which areassociated with a unique phone number or other unique address oridentifier (e.g., username, email address, app-based identifier, and soon). For example, a user may have a first profile (associated with afirst phone number or identifier) that is used for work communications,a second profile (associated with a second phone number or identifier)that is used for personal communications, and a third profile(associated with a third phone number or identifier), that is used forunknown or infrequent communications.

The communication alias system 150, in some embodiments, includesvarious modules or components that provide multiple distinctcommunication profiles for a user of a mobile device, and performvarious actions associated with the different communication profiles,including targeted messaging and alerts, location and/or time dependentprofile generation, third-party provisioning of temporary profiles, andso on.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of the communicationalias system 150. One skilled in the art will appreciate that thecommunication alias system 150 may include functional modules areimplemented with a combination of software (e.g., executableinstructions, or computer code) and hardware (e.g., at least a memoryand processor). Accordingly, as used herein, in some examples a moduleis a processor-implemented module and represents a computing devicehaving a processor that is at least temporarily configured and/orprogrammed by executable instructions stored in memory to perform one ormore of the particular functions that are described herein. For example,the communication alias system 150 may include a communication profilemodule 210, an action module 220, and a profile context module 230.

In some embodiments, the communication profile module 210 is configuredand/or programmed to generate, provision, and/or manage multiple,distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobile device 110.As described herein, a communication profile is a distinct profileassociated with the user of the mobile device and includes a uniquecommunication address to which communications (e.g., voice calls, textmessages, app-based messages, and so on) are directed or targeted.

The communication profile module 210 may generate distinct communicationprofiles for the user of the mobile device 110 based on input receivedfrom the user of the mobile device, such as input requesting a new ornewly-provisioned communication profile to be associated with certaintypes or communications or other users providing and receiving thecommunications. Therefore, a generated distinct communication profilemay include a unique telephone number as the unique communicationaddress to which communications targeted to the mobile device andreceived by the mobile device are directed, and profile type informationthat identifies a profile type for a given distinct communicationprofile.

The profile type of a communication profile may include a base orinitial profile (e.g., a profile that includes a phone number providedby a carrier or mobile device operator), as well as other profile types,including work or professional profile types (e.g., a profile thatcommunications with and is provisioned by enterprise systems of a user'splace of business, school, organization, and so on), personal profiletypes (e.g., a profile set up and provisioned by the user for certaincommunications or users associated with the communications), and so on.

Therefore, the communication profile module 210 may generate and/orprovision a variety of different communication profiles, where each ofthe profiles facilitate a unique set of communications. Examplecommunication profiles include:

A communication profile that is associated with a phone number and isconfigured to facilitate voice communications and text messaging betweenthe phone number and sender phone numbers located in a contacts databasestored in the mobile device;

A communication profile that is associated with a phone number and isconfigured to facilitate voice communications and text messaging betweenthe phone number and sender phone numbers unknown to the mobile device;

A communication profile that is associated with a phone number and isconfigured to facilitate text messaging between the phone number andsender phone numbers associated with other users;

A communication profile that is associated with a phone number and isconfigured to receive text messages that include sponsored messages fromentities that provide goods or services of interest to the user;

A communication profile that is associated with a phone number and isconfigured to receive text messages that include sponsored messages fromentities that provide goods or services unknown to be of interest to theuser;

A communication profile that is associated with a work phone number andis configured to facilitate voice communications and text messagingbetween the phone number and sender phone numbers located in a workcontacts database stored in the mobile device or an enterprise systemassociated with the work phone number; and so on.

In some embodiments, the action module 220 is configured and/orprogrammed to perform an action associated with providing information tothe user of the mobile device 110 via a selected communication profilefor the user of the mobile device 110. The action module 220 may selectcommunication profiles via which to perform actions to display sponsoredmessages (e.g., alerts or other advertisements to the user of the mobiledevice 110 based on the profile type information included in thecommunication profiles.

For example, the communication alias system 150, via input received fromthe user of the mobile device 110, may provision a communication profileto avow or deny sponsored or advertising based messaging. Acommunication profile, therefore, may include instructions to allowreceipt of all sponsored content, allow receipt of pre-elected sponsoredcontent (e.g., from entities or brands pre-selected or determined to beof interest to the user), and/or deny receipt of all sponsored content.

In some embodiments, the profile context module 230 is configured and/orprogrammed to determine a current or future profile context associatedwith the mobile device 110. The profile context module 230 may identifyand/or determine a time period within which a temporary communicationprofile is to be an active profile has commenced, and/or may identifyand/or determine a location (e.g., geographical location, certainbuilding or establishment, and so on) at which a location-specificcommunication profile is to be an active profile. For example, theprofile context module 230 may receive an indication that the mobiledevice 110 is at a location associated with a location-specificcommunication profile, and generate, provision, and/or set as “active” acommunication profile for the location.

Thus, the communication alias system 150 includes various modules and/orcomponents configured or programmed to generate and manage multiplecommunication profiles for a user of the mobile device 110. In someembodiments, the communication alias system 150 may enable the user tosegregate, by facet, (i) visual, textual, and audio communications,related to each of the multiple facets of the user's life, and (ii) dataor other information associated with capturing the user's activities,movements, and information (data) related to the multiple facets of theuser's life.

In some embodiments, the communication alias system 150 is implementedas a mobile application that is resident on the mobile device 110. Thecommunication alias system 150 enables an authorized party (e.g., user)the ability to establish and activate or deactivate multiple, unlimitedunique software defined communication profiles (e.g., identities orpersonals) on the mobile device 110.

During implementation, the mobile application provides a user with thecapability of establishing communication profiles, activating uniquetelephone number or other addresses for the communication profiles,performing audio communications (e.g., voice calls), visualcommunications (e.g., sending of video or images), and textualcommunications (e.g., text messaging) via the communication profiles.The mobile application may segregate data created, sent, received,and/or data consumed between the different communication profiles.

In establishing and provisioning the mobile application and variouscommunication profiles, the communication alias system 150 may performvarious functions, such as establish and/or access a customer/useraccount; establish, generate, provision, and/or set as active acommunication profile; delete or set as inactive a communicationprofile; search for and/or select a telephone number or othercommunication address; purchase and/or active communications servicesassociated with selected communication addresses, and so on.

Within a profile, the mobile application, via the communication aliassystem 150, may perform, or cause to perform, the following functions:establish telephone or other voice communications, send or initiatetelephone calls, receive telephone calls, access voice mail messages,create a voice mail greeting, initiate audio communications, initiatevisual communications, initiate textual communications, receive audiocommunications, receive visual communications, receive textualcommunications, send audio information, send visual information, sendtextual information, receive audio, visual, and textual information,create a local and/or remote data repository, store data in a datarepository, access data stored in a data repository, segregate usercreated data, segregate user received data, segregate user consumeddata, display user created data, display user consumed data, delete atelephone number, disconnect a telephone service, activate communicationprofile-specific audible sounds to indicate receipt of communications,play a communication profile-specific audible sound when an telephonecall is received, play a communication profile-specific audible soundwhen a text message is received, play a communication profile-specificaudible sound when an email message is received, play a communicationprofile-specific audible sound when a voice message is received, accessa list of third-party vendors hosted within the mobile application,elect (e.g., opt in) to receive third-party vendor or sponsored alertsor notifications, whether textual, image-based, or audible, purchasegoods and services from third-parties, and so on.

As described herein, the communication alias system 150 performs variousroutines, algorithms, methods, or other processes to enable users tocommunicate via different personas or communication profiles from asingle mobile device 110. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method300 for managing multiple, distinct, communication profiles for a userof a mobile device. The method 300 may be performed by the communicationalias system 150 and, accordingly, is described herein merely by way ofreference thereto. It will be appreciated that the method 300 may beperformed on any suitable hardware.

In operation 310, the communication alias system 150 generates and/orprovisions multiple, distinct, communication profiles for the user ofthe mobile device, where a communication profile is a distinct profileassociated with the user of the mobile device and includes a uniquecommunication address to which communications are directed. For example,the communication profile module 210 may generate distinct communicationprofiles for the user of the mobile device 110 based on input receivedfrom the user of the mobile device, such as input requesting a new ornewly-provisioned communication profile to be associated with certaintypes or communications or other users providing and receiving thecommunications.

In operation 320, the communication alias system 150 directscommunications to the communication profiles based on characteristics ofthe communication profiles. For example, the communication profilemodule 210 may direct work-related voice calls to a work profile,personal-related text messages to a personal profile, sponsored alertsto a communication profile that accepts sponsored content or contentfrom unknown numbers or entities, and so on.

In operation 330, the communication alias system 150 performs actionsassociated with providing information to the user of the mobile devicevia a selected communication profile for the user of the mobile device.For example, the action module 220 may select communication profiles viawhich to perform actions to display sponsored messages (e.g., alerts orother advertisements) to the user of the mobile device 110 based on theprofile type information included in the communication profiles.

As described herein, the communication alias system 150 may render andpresent (or, cause the mobile device 110 display to present) varioususer interfaces configured to display information to users, receiveinput from users, and so on. FIGS. 4A-4G depict various user interfacespresented by the communication alias system 150.

FIG. 4A depicts a home or base user interface 400 presented by thecommunication alias system 150, which presents information about thevarious different communication profiles for a user of the mobile device110. For example the user interface displays information representing afamily/friends communication profile 412, information representing a jobor professional communication profile 414, information representing adating or personal communication profile 416, information representingsingle entity (“Craigslist”) communication profile 418, as well asinformation representing temporary, time- or location-based profiles422, 424.

FIG. 4B depicts a user interface presenting various communicationmechanisms 430, such as a dial pad or virtual keypad 432 within aselected communication profile, such as the family/friends communicationprofile 412. Via the user interface, the communication alias system 150receives, via the keypad 432, input from a user of the mobile device110, and initiates a voice call from the phone number (“650-555-1134”)associated with the family/friends communication profile 412.

FIG. 4C depicts a user interface presenting a call log 434 or other listof recorded voice all information for calls placed and/or receivedwithin the family/friends communication profile 412. FIG. 4D depicts auser interface presenting various communication mechanisms 430, such asa text messaging log 436 or other list of recorded messages within thefamily/friends communication profile 412.

FIG. 4E depicts a user interface presenting various communicationmechanisms 430, and a contact list of contact information 438 within thefamily/friends communication profile 412.

FIG. 4F depicts a user interface presenting a sponsored alert orpromoted messages 442 within the text messaging log 436 or other list ofrecorded messages within the family/friends communication profile 412.

As described herein, the user, via the user interface depicted in FIG.4G, may provide input associated with authorizing a brand, company,and/or entity 450 to send messages and alerts to the user via thefamily/friends communication profile 412, and may provide input, viainput element 452, associated with setting parameters or filters forsuch messaging.

For example, the communication alias system 150, via the input element452, may receive input identifying types of messaging (e.g.,“announcements,” “events,” “coupons,” and so on) to be sent to the uservia the family/friends communication profile 412, a frequency (e.g.,daily or weekly or monthly or event-based) of which to send sponsoredmessaging, and so on).

Of course, the communication alias system 150 may render, present,and/or cause to present a variety of other user interfaces thatfacilitate the display or presentation of information and/or content toa user of the mobile device 110, as well as the receipt of input fromthe user of the mobile device 110. Example user interfaces include:

A member login or sign up screen to create a new customer account, loginto the application, reset the user's passkey, and so on;

A member profile screen to establish a new profile and/or displayinformation about current profiles managed by the communication aliassystem 150;

A telephone dial pad screen to dial a telephone number, establish atelephone call, switch to a contacts screen, switch to the messagingscreen, switch to a call log, switch to contact list, and so on;

A messaging screen to create a text message, view a list of textmessages sent from and received by the mobile application within a timeperiod (e.g., the past 90 days), which may include information, such asthe originating or terminating telephone number, the date and time ofday a message was sent from or received by the mobile application, andso on;

A contacts screen to create a new contact, search for an existingcontact, edit a contact record, and so on;

A call log screen to display a list of calls placed or received in acertain time period (e.g., the past 30 days), select a call record toview details of the call, and so on;

A voicemail screen to view a list of voicemails, including the date andthe time and the originating telephone number associated with thevoicemails, cause a voicemail to be played, and so on;

A passcode or other security screen to receive input from a userassociated with unlocking assess to the functions of the family/friendscommunication profile 412;

A new profile setup screen to create and save a new communicationprofile, including a user interface to receive input associated withlocating a telephone number similar to the number desired by the user,selecting a new telephone number from a list matching the user's definedcriteria, activating a new telephone number and associating it with thecommunication profile, and so on;

A settings screen to apply settings, such as direct all incoming callsto voicemail, changing a profile name, changing a telephone number orusername associated with the profile, deleting a profile, adjusting thecharacteristics of the profile, and so on;

An alerts screen to display a list of third party sponsors, display aspecific third party name from input received by the user, and so on;

An opt-in screen to display frequency options associated with receivingtextual or audio or visual messages from third parties, display type ofinformation options for the mobile application to receive textual oraudio or visual messages from third parties via the communicationprofile, such as news, announcements, offers, contest results, sportsresults, and so on.

Thus, the communication alias system 150 may provide an interface orsub-system that facilitates the targeting of third-party messages oralerts to a specific communication profile of a user. The system 150 mayact to direct certain messages (e.g., alerts, sponsored messages,location or time dependent messages, advertisements, video content andso on) to one or more of a user's communication profiles, such as toprofiles selected by the user, enabling the user to control thecommunication profile to which certain types of messages and/or mediaare delivered or received.

As described herein, the communication alias system 150 may interactwith voice communications components 112 of the mobile device 110, suchas by communicating with an application protocol interface (API) toestablish a communication link between the mobile application and anassociated network. The mobile device 110 may send and receive telephonecall control signaling information to/from the hosted network, whichsupports the mobile application when initiating and maintainingtelephone call sessions between the mobile device 110 and other devices130A-C.

Further, as described herein, the communication alias system 150 mayinteract with text communications components 114 of the mobile device110, such as by communicating with an application protocol interface(API) to establish a communication link between the mobile applicationand a Short Message Service (SMS) and/or Multimedia Message Service(MMS) telecommunications network, for the routing and delivery of SMSand MMS messages. For example, the SMS and MMS telecommunicationsnetwork may route and deliver all SMS and MMS messages received from themobile application to destination addresses associated with the devices130A-C.

As described herein, in some embodiments, the communication alias systemfacilitates the provisioning of temporal communication profiles, such astime-dependent and/or location-dependent communication profiles. FIG. 5is a flow diagram illustrating a method 500 of facilitating temporarycommunications for a user of a mobile device. The method 500 may beperformed by the communication alias system 150 and, accordingly, isdescribed herein merely by way of reference thereto. It will beappreciated that the method 500 may be performed on any suitablehardware.

In operation 510, the communication alias system 150 receives anindication that the mobile device is at a certain location. For example,the communication alias system 150 may determine the mobile device 150is at a certain geographical location or within a certain geofence,and/or that the mobile device 150 is at or in a certain building,establishment, event, or other physical structure.

The communication alias system 150 may receive the indication in avariety of ways. For example, the communication alias system 150 mayreceive user input of a capture or scan a barcode or image at certainlocation, may receive the indication from a GPS component of the mobiledevice 110, may receive a communication from an entity or organizationassociated with the location (e.g., upon the user registering for anevent or conference at the location, upon the user checking into ahotel, and so on), and so on.

In operation 520, the communication alias system 150 generates alocation-specific communication profile, wherein the location-specificcommunication profile includes a phone number or username associatedwith the user of the mobile device. For example, the profile contextmodule 230 may receive an indication that the mobile device 110 is at alocation associated with a location-specific communication profile, andgenerate, provision, and/or set as “active” a communication profile forthe location. In operation 530, the communication alias system 150directs communications associated with the location to thelocation-specific communication profile, as described herein.

In some embodiments, a third party may provision or generate acommunication profile, such as a location-specific and/or time-specificprofile, for a user within the communication alias system 150. Forexample, the system 150 may, with a user's consent, allow third partiesto initiate the addition of a temporary, location- and/or time-dependentcommunication profile (following method 500), tailored to providingmessages or other information to the user from the third party.

The following example provides additional details for the third-party(in this case, a hotel) provisioning of a communication profile on auser's mobile device 110. Once a user enters a hotel, a newcommunication profile, as depicted in FIG. 6, is provisioned, via thealias communication system 150, on the guest's mobile device 110, andremains an active communication profile for the duration of the guest'sstay.

The hotel guest may already be a member of the hotel's club and maytherefore provide an alias telephone number, or a main mobile number(e.g., the number associated with a carrier provided subscription), tothe hotel as part of the club registration, When the guest checks in,the hotel's registration system sends a new profile set up request(complete with check in and check out dates) to the mobile application,and the system 150 establishes and provisions the new temporary hotelalerts communication profile on the user's device 110. The communicationprofile may provide a user interface that displays registrationinformation and links 610, coupons or other offers 612, informationabout associated events 614, and so on.

When the guest checks out, the profile is rendered inactive or removedby the communication alias system 150.

As described herein, in some embodiments, the user may hold up his/herphone to the hotel's QR code reader (attached to a hotel's POS system)and the mobile application will present the member's QR code, and/or viablue tooth and near field communication (NFC), the mobile device 110 maytransmit the phone's UDID unique device ID, to the hotel's POS system,and the hotel will send the UDID and check in and check out dates to thesystem 150, which may then establish the temporary profile on the user'smobile device 110.

Further, the system 150 may determine the geographic location of themobile device 110, and establish the communication profile for theduration of a trip, which then disappears once the user has left thelocation.

Therefore, the communication alias system 150, in some embodiments,provides multiple distinct communication profiles for a user of a mobiledevice, and performs various actions associated with the differentcommunication profiles, including targeted messaging and alerts,location and time dependent profile generation, third-party provisioningof temporary profiles, and so on.

Suitable Computing System

FIG. 7 illustrates a high-level block diagram showing an examplearchitecture of a computer 700, which may represent any electronicdevice, such as a mobile device or a server, including any node within acloud service as described herein, and which may implement theoperations described above. The computer 700 includes one or moreprocessors 710 and memory 720 coupled to an interconnect 730. Theinterconnect 730 may be an abstraction that represents any one or moreseparate physical buses, point to point connections, or both connectedby appropriate bridges, adapters, or controllers. The interconnect 730,therefore, may include, for example, a system bus, a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus or PCI-Express bus, a HyperTransport orindustry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a small computer systeminterface (SCSI) bus, a universal serial bus (USB), IIC (I2C) bus, or anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394bus, also called “Firewire”.

The processor(s) 710 is/are the central processing unit (CPU) of thecomputer 700 and, thus, control the overall operation of the computer700. In certain embodiments, the processor(s) 710 accomplish this byexecuting software or firmware stored in memory 720. The processor(s)710 may be, or may include, one or more programmable general-purpose orspecial-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs),programmable controllers, application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gatearrays (FPGAs), trusted platform modules (TPMs), or a combination ofsuch or similar devices.

The memory 720 is or includes the main memory of the computer 700. Thememory 720 represents any form of random access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), flash memory, or the like, or a combination of suchdevices. In use, the memory 720 may contain code 770 containinginstructions according to the techniques disclosed herein.

Also connected to the processor(s) 710 through the interconnect 730 area network adapter 740 and a mass storage device 750. The network adapter740 provides the computer 700 with the ability to communicate withremote devices over a network and may be, for example, an Ethernetadapter. The network adapter 740 may also provide the computer 700 withthe ability to communicate with other computers.

The code 770 stored in memory 720 may be implemented as software and/orfirmware to program the processor(s) 710 to carry out actions describedabove. In certain embodiments, such software or firmware may beinitially provided to the computer 700 by downloading it from a remotesystem through the computer 700 (e.g., via network adapter 740).

CONCLUSION

Unless the context dearly requires otherwise, throughout the descriptionand the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are tobe construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive orexhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but notlimited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or anyvariant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct orindirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connectionbetween the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, shah refer to this application asa whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Wherethe context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using thesingular or plural number may also include the plural or singular numberrespectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or moreitems, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any ofthe items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combinationof the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the system is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the system to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, thesystem are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the system, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processesor blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments mayperform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in adifferent order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved,added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each of these processes orblocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, whileprocesses or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series,these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or maybe performed at different times.

While many embodiments described above employ software stored on themobile device, the scripts and other software noted above may be hardcoded into the mobile device (e.g. stored in EEPROM, PROM, etc.).Further, the above functionality may be implemented without scripts orother special modules.

The teachings of the system provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

All of the above patents and applications and other references,including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, areincorporated by reference. Aspects of the system can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further embodiments of thesystem.

These and other changes can be made to the system in light of the aboveDetailed Description. While the above description details certainembodiments of the system and describes the best mode contemplated, nomatter how detailed the above appears in text, the system can bepracticed in many ways. Details of the system may vary considerably inits implementation details, while still being encompassed by the systemdisclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used whendescribing certain features or aspects of the system should not be takento imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restrictedto any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the system withwhich that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in thefollowing claims should not be construed to limit the system to thespecific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the aboveDetailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly,the actual scope of the system encompasses not only the disclosedembodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementingthe system under the claims.

While certain aspects of the system are presented below in certain claimforms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the system inany number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the rightto add additional claims after filing the application to pursue suchadditional claim forms for other aspects of the system.

We claim:
 1. A system for managing communications associated with a userof a mobile device, the system comprising: a communication profilemodule that: manages multiple, distinct, communication profiles for theuser of the mobile device, wherein a communication profile includes aunique communication address to which communication is directed,generates a first communication profile that is associated with a firstphone number and is configured to facilitate text messaging between thefirst phone number and sender phone numbers associated with other users;generates a second communication profile that is associated with asecond phone number and is configured to receive text messages thatinclude sponsored messages from entities that provide goods or servicesof interest to the user; and generates a third communication profilethat is associated with a third phone number and is configured toreceive text messages that include sponsored messages from entities thatprovide goods or services unknown to be of interest to the user; and anaction module that performs an action associated with providinginformation to the user of the mobile device via a selectedcommunication profile for the user of the mobile device.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the communication profile module generates distinctcommunication profiles for the user of the mobile device based on inputreceived from the user of the mobile device; wherein the generateddistinct communication profiles each include: a unique telephone numberas the unique communication address to which communications targeted tothe mobile device and received by the mobile device are directed; andprofile type information that identifies a profile type for a givendistinct communication profile; and wherein the action module selectscommunication profiles via which to perform actions to display sponsoredmessages to the user of the mobile device based on the profile typeinformation included in the communication profiles.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first communication profile is associated with thefirst phone number and is configured to facilitate voice communicationsand text messaging between the first phone number and sender phonenumbers located in a contacts database stored in the mobile device. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein each of the communication profilesinclude: information identifying a telephone number to which voice callsand text messages are directed and from which voice calls and textmessages originate; and information identifying a time period withinwhich the communication profile is an active profile.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein each of the communication profiles include: informationidentifying a telephone number to which voice calls and text messagesare directed and from which voice calls and text messages originate; andinformation identifying a location at which the communication profile isan active profile.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the communicationprofile module: receives an indication that the mobile device is at alocation associated with a location-specific communication profile; andgenerates a communication profile for the location that includes a phonenumber to which communications associated with the location aredirected.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique communicationaddress is a phone number associated with voice communications and textcommunications or a username associated with application-based messagingcommunications.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whosecontents, when executed by a mobile device, cause the mobile device toperform operations for managing communications associated with a user ofthe mobile device, the operations comprising: generating multiple,distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobile device,wherein a communication profile is a distinct profile associated withthe user of the mobile device, wherein a communication profile includes:information identifying a telephone number to which voice calls and textmessages are directed and from which voice calls and text messagesoriginate, information identifying a location at which the communicationprofile is an active profile, and information identifying a time periodwithin which the communication profile is an active profile when themobile device is at the identified location; and performing actionsassociated with providing information to the user of the mobile devicevia a selected communication profile for the user of the mobile device.9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the generateddistinct communication profiles each include: a unique telephone numberas the unique communication address to which communications targeted tothe mobile device and received by the mobile device are directed; andprofile type information that identifies a profile type for a givendistinct communication profile and a type of communications to bedirected to the distinct communication profile.
 10. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein generating multiple,distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobile deviceincludes: generating a first communication profile that is associatedwith a first phone number and is configured to facilitate voicecommunications and text messaging between the first phone number andsender phone numbers located in a contacts database stored in the mobiledevice; and generating a second communication profile that is associatedwith a second phone number and is configured to facilitate voicecommunications and text messaging between the second phone number andsender phone numbers unknown to the mobile device.
 11. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein generating multiple,distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobile deviceincludes: generating a first communication profile that is associatedwith a first phone number and is configured to facilitate text messagingbetween the first phone number and sender phone numbers associated withother users; and generating a second communication profile that isassociated with a second phone number and is configured to receive textmessages that include sponsored messages from entities that providegoods or services of interest to the user.
 12. The computer-readablemedium of claim 8, wherein generating multiple, distinct, communicationprofiles for the user of the mobile device includes: generating acommunication profile that is associated with a phone number and isconfigured to receive text messages that include sponsored messages fromentities that provide goods or services of interest to the user.
 13. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein generating multiple,distinct, communication profiles for the user of the mobile deviceincludes: receiving an indication that the mobile device is at alocation associated with a location-specific communication profile; andgenerating a communication profile for the location that includes aphone number to which communications associated with the location aredirected.
 14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theunique communication address is a phone number associated with voicecommunications and text communications or a username associated withapplication-based messaging communications.
 15. A method, comprising:generating a first communication profile that is associated with a firstphone number for a user of a mobile device and is configured tofacilitate text messaging between the first phone number and senderphone numbers associated with other users, wherein a communicationprofile includes a unique communication address to which communicationis directed; generating a second communication profile that isassociated with a second phone number and is configured to receive textmessages that include sponsored messages from entities that providegoods or services of interest to the user; generating a thirdcommunication profile that is associated with a third phone number andis configured to receive text messages that include sponsored messagesfrom entities that provide goods or services unknown to be of interestto the user; and performing an action associated with providinginformation to the user of the mobile device via a selectedcommunication profile for the user of the mobile device.
 16. The systemof claim 15, wherein each communication profile includes: profile typeinformation that identifies a profile type for a given communicationprofile; and wherein performing an action associated with providinginformation to the user of the mobile device via a selectedcommunication profile includes selecting communication profiles viawhich to perform actions to display sponsored messages to the user ofthe mobile device based on the profile type information included in thecommunication profiles.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the firstcommunication profile is associated with the first phone number and isconfigured to facilitate voice communications and text messaging betweenthe first phone number and sender phone numbers located in a contactsdatabase stored in the mobile device.
 18. The method of claim 15,wherein each communication profile includes: information identifying atelephone number to which voice calls and text messages are directed andfrom which voice calls and text messages originate; and informationidentifying a time period within which the communication profile is anactive profile.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein each communicationprofile includes: information identifying a telephone number to whichvoice calls and text messages are directed and from which voice callsand text messages originate; and information identifying a location atwhich the communication profile is an active profile.
 20. The method ofclaim 15, wherein each communication profile includes a usernameconfigured to facilitate application-based messaging communications.